"Processing raw Beeswax for use as cast bullet lube"

[JanJoepJaakJansen]

have you tried to put the restrainer into the heater and then sucking up the beeswax? maybe it was already mentioned, but too lazy to read al these reactions :) lol

[omgiTsmeJon]

can u use other types of waxes?

[blackgaymidgetjew]

You make great, thorough videos. I got into reloading for the sole fact that i could make cheap, accurate ammo, after my first few batches of ammo i started to realize that i enjoyed the feeling i get from making ammo. Making ammo is an extremely gratifying hobby for me, i love the hands-on primal feeling of making ammo to my personal specs . Now i made my own case tumbler, cast my own boolits, and make my own lube. Thank you for all the videos you have posted, they have helped me immenseley.

[rushymoto]

Yes, My Dad keeps bees and we have loads of wax to use, We also both shoot so I am looking forward to making my bullet lube. To get the crap out of the wax, get a sive strainer the same size as a sauce pan and put the wax in it, put it in the top of the pan and put the lid on, set the whole contraption with water in it to boil and the wax will be steamed through the strainer.

[fuzzywzhe]

as a suggestion, instead of using a coffee filter, why don't you just wrap some cheese cloth on the end of the turkey baster? It will filter as you suck the wax up, and it all you need to do is wipe off the tip before you expel the liquid wax.

[bldeagle10]

lol @ javalina, pronounced hava-lina j=h sound. just helpin ya out

[fishblade2]

question this method works for the bullets that he has with the rings that the lube stays in but what about the balls? I have cast iron balls that I want to pre-lube without having to add so much lube in the cylinders of my revolver to keep from misfire. If you can't do it with the iron balls then where do you get a casting tool that will make another type of bullet? Please send a link if anyone knows. Thanks!

[suirvale]

what bullet lube used for ,..is it gun bullet or wht,.

[fzbwfk9r]

toilet bowl gasket has not been beeswax for a long time.

if you do find some old very sticky stuff, it might work but the newer stiffer stuff is poor wax

also not, Iraqveteran8888 is incorrect about the formula for 50/50 alox/bw mix

it is NOT Lee liquid Alox, but Lubrizol Alox 350, the replacement for Alox2138f

[diderr01]

looks like a meth lab

[sesquiculus]

In an end of world situation, toilet bowl gaskets are mostly beewax, plus a little something (Rosin ? ) to make them sticky and a little softer. Haven't tried it, but my wild guess it would make a pretty good bullet lube used as is.

[fzbwfk9r]

@sesquiculus toilet bowl gasket has not been beeswax for a long time.

if you do find some old very sticky stuff, it might work but the newer stiffer stuff is poor wax

also note, Iraqveteran8888 is incorrect about the formula for 50/50 alox/bw mix

it is NOT Lee liquid Alox, but Lubrizol Alox 350, the replacement for Alox2138f

[whatsmyname252]

isnt it just cheaper to buy the bullets after doing all of this

[krzysiek26]

now go and shoot somebody nicely

[Buckrun11]

When we use to keep bees. We use to melt and clean our wax in a wooden box. We painted to box black inside and out. Put a glass top on it. Inside we had a metal sheet that we would put the wax on. It had a rim all the way around with a small opening for the wax to run out. We used plastic butter bowls to catch the wax. On a sunny day it would melt and run into the bowls. put some kind of strainer to clean it and it would be a lot nicer when you melt it for your bullets.

[orioncheung]

isn't that.. a rice cooker..

[blainenay]

I process my wax by dumping it right into a pot of hot water. (I don't use a double boiler. Dumping the wax directly into the water achieves the same goals.) The wax floats on top of the water. Most of the debris and sludge sinks to the bottom of the water. Skim off the floating debris, then let the pot cool. Then lift out the cake of wax. The bottom of the cake will have a layer of debris which is denser than wax. This crud simply scrapes off leaving a nice cake of clean wax.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Sounds like a perfectly sound and feasible idea. Thanks for sharing.

[poduck2]

That is essentially what beekeepers do. I usually add water to the cappings when I melt them. That way there is no moving the wax from one place to another. Most of the junk goes to the bottom, and you can skim the junk off the top. Then you can use your turkey baster to suck off the wax while it is still melted and you won't be wasting all the wax that is mixed in with the trash.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Know of a good place to get beeswax for a decent price? Do you sell any?

[poduck2]

@Iraqveteran8888 I haven't kept bees for a few years, so I am out, but every beekeeper will have tons after the first big honey harvest at the end of spring, beginning of summer. Talk to some beeks about buying their cappings, and make a lowball offer and see what you get. Many beekeepers hate that part of the job.

Even better, keep a hive of your own. You'll never run out, and it's actually rather fun as a hobby. Unless you hate honey that is.

[Iraqveteran8888]

I might find a local beekeeper and see if they need help with that process for the mere price of all the wax I can carry...lol

[JustWonderingHowToDo]

@poduck2 Are only the cappings made of beeswax or is the entire honeycomb made of beeswax? I alwas thought it was the last one, correct me if i'm wrong.

[poduck2]

@JustWonderingHowToDo The entire comb is made of beeswax for the most part. Beekeepers tend to reuse their old comb in most cases because it makes less work for the bees, but the cappings are pretty much always used to make beeswax and beeswax products.

[Panzerzimmerpflanze]

Just curious of your opinion, we've got pounds and pounds of commercial wax - don't know what it is other than it's wax; think that's useable? I've seen some people suggest it whereas others say not to.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Any wax will do just fine. I have lubed round balls with just crisco to decent effect.

[Magnumwideglide]

Seems to me at worst you could buy beeswax toilet wax seals. You can buy those for $2 ea all day, or 99 cents on sale occasionally.

[boyetatake]

Where is a good source of raw beeswax? Do you know one where I could buy some. I don't mind processing/cleaning it if priced significantly less compared to ebay. I need around 10 lbs.

Thanks

[Iraqveteran8888]

Beeswax is still one of those odd things that is absolutely regional.

If you live in an area with a lot of bee keepers (especially if you know one well), you can get it for about 2-3 bucks a pound, or maybe even free.

If you live in an area where little grandmas like to melt down all the beeswax and make candles (like here in Georgia) you may be harder pressed to locate a source.

Best bet is to try either ebay, shooting forums, or organic product stores online.

[silver760]

I personally would have strained that through cloth,to get a super clean wax,the other material you could you use that would be ideal would be an old pair of tights,they filter really well.keep on casting!! If you bought a fly press and made some dies,theres nothing stoping you making FMJ bullets,take time to set up,but once done you could churn out thousands.

[Iraqveteran8888]

I bet I could take a thin layer of cheese cloth or possibly the older tights and line the strainer with it. Ill have to try it. I have another batch of beeswax coming. You need any lubersizer stocks made, let me know.

[silver760]

Thanks for the reply and the offer of the lubersizer sticks,I must have a look into a lubersizer,something I'm not entirely familiar with yet,

[Iraqveteran8888]

Lyman makes them. Midwayusa sells them pretty reasonable.

[compshooter1]

I've been watching video from you and ammosmith. you guys have inspired me to start casting. i had a question though the only deal I can find on beeswax is dark beeswax will that work?

[Iraqveteran8888]

Awesome!

James is a good guess with tons of knowledge. He just released a bullet casting 101 video with Wolfe Publishing that I strongly encourage that you check out if you want a comprehensive overview. Our videos on youtube touch the subject pretty decent I suppose though.

(Me and James may have a few collaborative youtube projects coming up in the future)

[M733]

This is a subject I would not know a think about if not for your video, but I find it rather interesting and not mundane at all. Thanks for the upload, and I'm going to look forward to the cast bullet followups.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Thanks for the compliment and glad you enjoyed the vid. More to come (I have had a very busy week at work!)

[fusil56300]

Just scored for 5kg of wax, for free. Just gotta take the bee keeper to the range as he's never fired a gun and wants too.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Nice....Thats a fair trade. Always fun to introduce people to the sport of shooting.

[fusil56300]

Bonjour,

do you mix the bee's wax or use it pure for pan lubing? I've been using the Barry Darrs mix with great results.

[Iraqveteran8888]

You can use it for pan lubing but it may be neccessary to add a little white lithium grease or vaseline to make it a little softer.

The Barry Darrs formula works wonders with beeswax!

[RemMan700]

Cool vid.

[molemanlivesagain]

im too lazy to do all this, but if you got the time its great to save money.

[Iraqveteran8888]

I hear you...If you are making enough money for your free time to be an issue to you I say buy all you need and be done with it...I'm poor...LOL

[molemanlivesagain]

well bees wax is 2-4$ a pound already cleaned up. so thats what i like. but since i moved out of my parents i lost most my stuff when they moved. so i gotta buy a new press, smelter and dies. atleast i kept my 800lbs of lead, most likley more. its melted in i think 5lb bars. im 18 so my income is mostly for condo payments.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Where do you find beeswax that cheap?

[molemanlivesagain]

state fair, even bee keepers have gross ammounts of wax. just look around. so since my lead is super pure im wondering if i need to melt some other metal into it for 9x19/lugar? too soft or can i tap the bullets into water and be fine?

[fusil56300]

Bonjour, pure lead is WAY to soft for 9mm. Water dropping will not make them harder if its pure lead. I mix mine 50/50 with wheel weight lead plus 2% pewter/tin, then water drop.

[Iraqveteran8888]

I second Fusil56300,

You'll need to either score some WWs, or add some tin or linotype to the mix.

Beeswax must be one of those regional sort of things in terms of price. Around here, bee keepers charge 12 bucks a pound for UNPROCESSED beeswax!

[molemanlivesagain]

12 bucks a pound of unprocessed??? jesus! good thing a little wax goes a long way. so i need to find some wheel weights. im in the greater seattle area so i shouldent have a problem getting them. i just want to go plinking more than three or four times a year. i also heard you can cast 7.62x39, you think those will feed well in an AK? or will the bullet its self get beat up too much? i know nothing about gas cheaks so i gotta look into that too.

[Iraqveteran8888]

Once you score some WWs, I have a few decent videos on basic bullet casting as well as smelting down raw lead.

I am about to shoot some videos about cast 7.62x39mm rounds....funny you mention it. Stay tuned for it.

I'll will address your gas check question in the 7.62x39mm cast bullet video.

[fusil56300]

Salut, your videos are much better than just 'decent'. Keep them coming and thank you from across the BIG pond.

[camerl2009]

mix with tin dont drop in water it will pop

[ECTBWHO]

Thanks for the info.

[sxdxfan]

great information!!!